Sacrifice
by Nival Vixen
Summary: COMPLETE! On the night Lily and James Potter are killed, Lucius returns home, covered in blood. Narcissa sets a plan in motion that, if fails, would not only sacrifice her husband to the Ministry, but also herself and everything they hold dear.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.

**Summary:** on the night Lily and James Potter are killed, Lucius returns home to his wife and son, covered in blood. Narcissa sets a plan in motion that, if fails, would not only sacrifice her husband to the Ministry, but also herself and everything they hold dear.

**Warning:** My first Lucius/Narcissa fic. Unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine.

**Status:** Complete. One-shot

...

Reading a book, Narcissa was quite content to stay in the armchair all night. She looked up when Lucius walked into the room, and knew immediately that her plans for a quiet evening were ruined. Her husband was covered in someone else's blood; at least, if it was his own, he didn't seem hurt. Narcissa raised her eyebrow as Lucius sat on their cream coloured loveseat, blood and pieces of human flesh marking the delicate fabric.

"It was supposed to go perfectly," Lucius muttered.

He looked dishelved and crumpled - it was one of the few times she'd seen him look so _messy_ and so, Narcissa simply looked over her husband's form and waited for him to continue.

"Nothing was supposed to go wrong. We had their location; the wards were far too easy to take down, I mean, honestly, what were they thinking? Probably weren't thinking at all, bloody Gryffindors."

This was the most he'd ever said about anything to do with the Dark Lord, because there was no doubt in Narcissa's mind that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is whom Lucius was currently talking - _never ranting, oh no, Lucius Malfoy did not rant_ - about.

"Then it all went downhill. I don't... I don't even know _how_ it did, but somehow it did. The Dark Lord died; the house was in flames; Pettigrew shifted and disappeared, that little rat; and then Sirius showed up and took after him. I didn't get a chance to stop him."

This last part was directed at Narcissa, and she managed a small nod. Sirius, while not her favourite of relatives, was still family. Depending on what happened, it would not reflect well on her or her husband. Lucius didn't see her nod, already returning to his ... talk.

"Then Dumbledore showed up and everything just got all that much worse. Some of them tried to fight, then there was an explosion a few streets over, and it gave me a chance to Disapparate."

Narcissa waited a moment to ensure Lucius had finished. She stood abruptly, gathering her things quickly.

"What... What are you doing, love?" Lucius asked, still discomposed enough to look surprised at her action.

"The Dark Lord is dead. You were in his inner circle and will be condemned with tonight's deeds. We need to get Draco and leave the country. We have to make it seem that we have not been in England for the last week. Dobby!" she called.

The house elf appeared, trembling slightly.

"Take Lucius' robes and burn them. Get one of the house elves to pack luggage for at least a month. Hurry now. And clean the loveseat!"

Dobby bowed quickly and clicked his fingers. Lucius' robes disappeared from his body, leaving him clad in his usual pressed trousers and shirt. Narcissa cleaned the blood, dirt, soot, and whatever else was on him, with a few cleaning spells and a wet cloth that she conjured.

"Dobby!"

Again, the house elf appeared before her.

"Have everything covered and make the entire manor seem as if we have not been here for the past week, understood?"

"Dobby understands, Ma'am," he replied quickly.

Narcissa Apparated upstairs to the landing that led to Draco's room. The house elves were scampering about doing as she had said. She knew how efficient they were and left them to their jobs, walking to her son's room. Innocent Draco, who had not yet said his first word, but she knew he would soon. His grey eyes were so sombre, even when he laughed. Sighing softly, Narcissa picked her son up gently, careful not to wake him. She Apparated back to the lounge room to where Lucius was just standing there, looking shell-shocked.

"Take Draco," she murmured, gently passing him to his father.

Lucius did so immediately, paternal instincts taking over despite his shock, and he held Draco comfortably.

"Apparate to the house in France. Have the elves prepare everything. Quickly, go," she said, kissing his lips.

Despite the fact that she'd cleaned it, Narcissa could still taste blood. She was silent as her husband and son disappeared, and then turned to the house elves who were trying to clean the loveseat in vain.

"Burn it with the robes if you have to. Just make it look like it was never there," she said, urgency creeping into her voice.

Narcissa knew that she had to leave soon. Aurors or the Order would be arriving shortly, and if she was still here but Lucius and Draco were mysteriously missing... Well, she doubted that she would see anything other than a cell in Azkaban.

Taking her book, she doused the fire before calling Dobby to her for the final time.

"Tell every house elf in our employment that we have been in France for the past week. If anyone asks, they are to say this and nothing more. We have not been in England, and you do not know when we are returning. If anything other than this is said, you will wish you were dead."

"Dobby understands, Ma'am," he whimpered.

Narcissa nodded, Apparating quickly.

...

Despite all her efforts, Lucius was still brought in front of the Wizengamot to be tried as a Death Eater and involved in the deaths of Lily and James Potter. They put him in Azkaban and then delayed his trial for a week, ensuring that he would be a hollow man by the time he walked out of the cell.

Narcissa was only able to see him for five minutes before his trial started to give him a change of clothes. They had taken her wand, but hadn't thought to check her for anything else. When Lucius took the clothes, he felt a sharp sting as a syringe embedded itself in his skin. The enchantment wore off the moment the dose had been given, a single strand of hair floating to the ground. Narcissa watched in satisfaction as her husband's eyes glazed. He shook his head and kissed her, pulled away by the guards immediately.

Of course, Lucius' left forearm was enough evidence for the Death Eater conviction, but the Wizengamot were unable to provide any witnesses to his involvement in the deaths of the Potters.

All sources testified that the Malfoy family had been in France for the past week, and if they seemed a little dazed, well no one thought much of it. It was one of the few times the entire Wizengamot had gathered and it was a spectacular sight to behold. They didn't know that Narcissa was waiting outside the court room, gently hexing whoever they brought in. It was easy enough to get away with considering she had Confounded the guard already. She would Obliviate him of the memory later.

When it came for Lucius to testify, Narcissa made her way into the court room and sat behind her husband. She was silent through the entire ordeal, even when Lucius took Veritaserum - the Wizengamot's last resort for those they were desperate to punish but had no leads. Lucius answered every question in a clear, unaffected voice, and stated that he'd been in France with his wife and son a week before the attack.

The adrenaline that she'd injected him with wore out the Veritaserum quickly enough that the Wizengamot only managed to ask three questions and retrieve completely truthful answers. Not that they knew. If they had, they would have asked him to confirm something other than his name, his address, and his parents.

The next question was about the amount of money he had in his bank account, and Narcissa tensed slightly, wondering just how fast the Veritaserum wore off. She put her head in her hands when Lucius answered, but it was to hide her smile rather than express any grief. He had told them a quarter of what was in their account, and she knew that her plan had worked.

Lucius' punishment for being a Death Eater was severe, but Narcissa knew that it could have been worse. At least he no longer had to stay in Azkaban, and the amount of money they had to give the Ministry wasn't _too _much of their account, really.

Narcissa sat in the Ministry's waiting room, intent on leaving back to France the moment Lucius was released. She saw the latest edition of the _Daily Prophet_ and picked it up when it was clear the Ministry was going to take the longest time possible.

It was in this way that Narcissa first read about Lily and James Potter's deaths at the hands of Voldemort. She read about how Lily had defied the Dark Lord to save her son, and had died in doing so. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

The door opened and Lucius stepped into the waiting room, and despite the bags under his eyes, the handcuffs they'd kept him in, and his weight loss over the past week, he looked no worse for the wear.

Narcissa placed the paper back on the table and walked over to her husband. Smiling, she kissed him, ignoring the guard's attempt to free her husband from the handcuffs.

"Missed you, love," he murmured so softly that not even the guard heard.

"I know," she replied with a smile.

The guard took the cuffs off Lucius and returned his wand reluctantly. As all of this was happening, Narcissa's eyes wandered back to the Daily Prophet and the article about Lily Potter's noble death.

_They weren't so different, really_, Narcissa thought as she took her husband's hand to Apparate. She had done so much more than sacrifice herself for her family; she'd been willing to lose everything just so they could stay together.

With that thought in mind, Narcissa Apparated with Lucius back to their home in France, where their safe and innocent son was waiting in his crib, not knowing what had been done to keep him that way.

...

Finished

...


End file.
